The Effect of Prescription Drugs and Alcohol Consumption on Intimate Partner Violence Victim Blaming

Gemma Sáez, Manuel J. Ruiz, Gabriel Delclós-López, Francisca Expósito and Sergio Fernández-Artamendi
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Gemma Sáez: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Sevilla, Spain
Manuel J. Ruiz: Department of Psychology and Anthropology, Education Faculty, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Gabriel Delclós-López: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Sevilla, Spain
Francisca Expósito: Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain
Sergio Fernández-Artamendi: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a public health problem with harsh consequences for women’s well-being. Social attitudes towards victims of IPV have a big impact on the perpetuation of this phenomenon. Moreover, specific problems such as the abuse of alcohol and drugs by IPV victims could have an effect on blame attributions towards them. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the external perception (Study 1) and self-perception (Study 2) of blame were influenced by the victims’ use and abuse of alcohol or by the victims’ use of psychotropic prescription drugs. Results of the first study (N = 136 participants) showed a significantly higher blame attribution towards female victims with alcohol abuse compared to those without it. No significant differences were found on blame attributed to those with psychotropic prescription drugs abuse and the control group. Results of the second study (N = 195 female victims of interpersonal violence) showed that alcohol consumption is associated with higher self-blame and self-blame cognitions among IPV victims. However, results did not show significant differences on self-blame associated to the victims’ use of psychotropic prescription drugs. Our findings indicate that alcohol consumption, but not prescription drugs use, plays a relevant role in the attribution of blame by general population and self-blame by victims of IPV.

Keywords: alcohol; attitudes; intimate partner violence; prescription-drug; victim blaming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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